[Pg 95] LETTER NO. VIII. [Pg 97] [Pg 97] LETTER No. VIII. His governor's visit to Hot Springs, a contretemps with a British Lord, together with experiences with a few physicians,inspire Pierrepont's pen. Chicago, Jan. 23, 189— Chicago, Jan. 23, 189 Dear Pa: There's no doubt that the Hot Springs are great for a good many ailments, and I'm glad you are improving. Professor Plexus, our old instructor in calisthenics at Harvard, used to take the trip to Arkansas with John L. Sullivan, twice a year, and they both said the treatment was fine. I don't think Sullivan had rheumatism, but your case may not be the same as his, and the scalding process will probably do you more good than it does a regular Graham hog. The boys around the office laugh considerably when they mention you and the Hot Springs, which makes me rather warm under the collar, for I can't stand having a father of mine misapprehended. I know you for what you are, but they[Pg 98] know you for what they think you are, and provisional knowledge, you know, goes a long ways in the provision business. [Pg 98] Speaking of the Hot Springs reminds me of a story Professor Plexus used to tell about the Arkansas boiling vats. According to him, there used to be a morgue connected with the establishment, for the use of those who were unlucky enough to succumb to the treatment. An old Irishman was the general factotum of the place, and it happened that he was afflicted with a bronchial disturbance that was the envy of every cougher who visited the spot. Meeting him one day in the abode of the departed, one of the doctors remarked to him, on hearing a particularly sepulchral wheeze: "Pat, I wouldn't have your cough for five hundred dollars." "Is thot so, sorr?" retorted the son of Erin. "Well,"
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